JMS on CompuServe (Dec 05-06, 1995) *SPOILERS*
b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu
b5jms-owner at cs.columbia.edu
Sun Dec 10 08:11:22 EST 1995
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From: brent.barrett at 24stex.com (Brent Barrett)
Lines: 901
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following posts may contain SPOILERS for
upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
Continue at your own risk.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*: 411359 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
05-Dec-95 17:41:18
Sb: #Admiral's Promise
Fm: Charles Agius 72712,3572
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
I can keep cool under fire.
There have been some valid points made here. If you say that things are under
control I will accept that.
I will hope than we can put this under the bridge.
However, I am utterly disgusted with the rash of hard nosed response I
recieved. Some of the messges were cruel and lacking informity.
I will now apolagize to you directly JMS. In my haste I mis quoted you. In
the future I will make sure my statements are more accurate. I truley regret
it.
However, I don't like it being said that I should be spaced or that I'm
screwing around! My time is more valuable than that. There were also other
comments made by others that struck a note of disgust. I would expect nothing
less than an apology from those parties. And you know who you are.
My only interest is to keep B5 on the air.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
*: 411661 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 00:00:50
Sb: #411359-#Admiral's Promise
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Charles Agius 72712,3572 (X)
Apology accepted. We move on.
jms
*: 411477 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Dec-95 19:18:48
Sb: #B5 Screen Saver Arrived!
Fm: Scott Withrow 71234,1474
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
Joe,
Is there any possibilty of a Mac version of the screensaver?
Thanks,
Scott
*: 411663 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 00:00:55
Sb: #411477-#B5 Screen Saver Arrived!
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Scott Withrow 71234,1474 (X)
As I understand it, the company wants to come out with a Mac version in a
re-release of the program sometime in the spring. It's just hitting the market
and already it's doing quite well.
jms
*: 411485 S5/Babylon 5: General
05-Dec-95 19:23:19
Sb: #411369-#Centauri Ships
Fm: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
>> I think those are the ones attacking a Narn cruiser, so they're Centauri
mid-size attack craft.
About how many Centauri man a:
1) Fighter
2) Mid-Sized Attack Craft
3) Capital Ship
and is this about standard.
One last thing on numbers I have been meaning to ask. People keep saying
"hundreds of thousands" of Narn were killed in the attack on Narn. Isn't this a
little low? The Centauri wacked them with the (conservative) equivilent of 20
kiloton bombs, about 20 an hour (rough guess) for *Four Days*, I would have
expected casualties in the hundreds of millions.
Estimates of world wide losses in a global thermonuclear war on Earth go from
900 million to 2.4 billion. Why were the Narn losses so low (also remembering
G'Kar's claim of "unlimited manpower" I would assume there are a few billion
Narn).
Phil ^^^^
FREE MARS!
*: 411664 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 00:00:57
Sb: #411485-#Centauri Ships
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101 (X)
Actually, yes, there are millions of dead; I think that either Vir or
Na'Far gets it right in "Strife," and the other misstates the figure in the
same episode.
jms
*: 411603 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
05-Dec-95 22:27:32
Sb: #411416-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: Jon Wolf 76103,2541
To: John McAuley 100260,412 (X)
<< > Edward's mind is not real. It is a construct, useful only for
> providing service to the society he has wronged.
That's what I don't like about the process.
Edward, a sentient human being, has become, only a construct.
He is a thing, a useful thing, but not a person.
I don't like the idea of a society that does this to people, that has people
who are not considered to *be* people.>>
No, no, no. *Charlie*, a sentient human being, has become only a construct.
The serial killer deserves death, but failing that, future Earth has decided to
milk some value from him as a useful thing. Why does the Black Rose Killer
deserve to be considered *people*?
Jon
*: 411666 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 00:11:12
Sb: #411603-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Jon Wolf 76103,2541 (X)
Re: mindwipes no longer considered people...this really is not that much
different from prison inmates, who are given numbers, have no real civil
rights, and are treated like cattle. (And many of them deserve it; a few
deserve worse; a few deserve better.)
jms
*: 411688 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 03:06:18
Sb: #410907-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: John C. Brobston/PRCT 71410,3121
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
> I cannot fly, so I would write of birds and starships and kites; I
> cannot play an instrument, so I would write of composers and
> dancers; and I cannot forgive, so I would write of priests and
> monks and minbari....
When are you going to publish a book of poetry?
--John
*: 411907 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 12:12:04
Sb: #411688-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: John C. Brobston/PRCT 71410,3121 (X)
Never; my poetry really sucks....
jms
*: 411789 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 09:00:03
Sb: #411666-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
>>..this really is not that much different from prison inmates, who are given
numbers, have no real civil rights, and are treated like cattle. (And many of
them deserve it; a few deserve worse; a few deserve better.)
I am curious, given your recent post on forgiveness and human life as a
precious thing, what you *personally* think of capital punishment. Your
mindwipe concept has certainly provoked thought, but what *you* think of the
punishment it repalced?
Phil^^^^
FREE MARS!
*: 411908 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 12:12:06
Sb: #411789-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101 (X)
On one level, I'm in favor of the death penalty. I think that if someone
takes your life deliberately, they sacrifice their own in return. Some might
say it's not a deterrent in general...but it sure as heck deters that specific
person.
*On the other hand*...I take that position mainly because nowadays, when
someone is sentenced to life, "life" means about 15 years at best. If life
imprisonment MEANT life inprisonment, then I'd happily go for that option above
the death penalty (and that certainly does leave room for verdict corrections).
jms
*: 411790 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 09:00:05
Sb: #411664-#Centauri Ships
Fm: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
I would have caught anybody saying millions dead (because I have been thinking
of it) I think...
Anybody else heard anyone quote the Narn cassualties being in the Millions?
Phil^^^^
FREE MARS!
*: 411909 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 12:12:07
Sb: #411790-#Centauri Ships
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101 (X)
Just went back and checked the script; Ta'Lon refers to millions in his
meeting with Sheridan. (Knew I wasn't nuts....)
jms
*: 411838 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 10:07:11
Sb: #411666-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: Greg Munsill 76370,142
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
I'm wondering:
Did you intend the on-screen description of the use of the mind wipe -- i.e.,
as a more "humane" punishment -- to be pure sarcasm? I ask because I'm not
sure what the difference is between capital punishment and the mind wipe. In
both instances, the *person* is left dead. Mind wiping just leaves a hunk of
meat ready to have an artificial personality installed in it, as opposed to
capital punishment which just leaves a hunk of meat ready to be turned into
fertilizer.
Greg
*: 411910 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 12:12:09
Sb: #411838-<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Greg Munsill 76370,142 (X)
I just put the mindwipe issue out there, I didn't make a moral judgment
about it...in 2260, that's what's done. I just report the news....
jms
*: 411892 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 11:17:02
Sb: #411367-#B5 Screen Saver Arrived!
Fm: John McAuley 100260,412
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
Joe,
If you use this computer to do your writing on.
DON'T switch to win95!!!
Its ok once its up and running but you will probably lose a great deal of time,
and what little hair you have left, before you get there.
You can't afford to lose either :-)
-John <Ducking for cover>
Be afraid, be very afraid...
*: 411911 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 12:12:12
Sb: #411892-B5 Screen Saver Arrived!
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: John McAuley 100260,412 (X)
Funny. Very funny. Amerikanski humor.
We bomb now.
jms
*: 411780 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 08:48:12
Sb: #411219-#JMS resigns rastb5
Fm: Robt Martin 75663,2701
To: Ruth Ballam 100412,3457 (X)
As a frequent lurker and occasional poster in rastB5, I feel I should offer
some small defense of the Usenet group.
While there were always active flame threads, the vast majority of users and
posters were/are fans, as well-behaved as anyone here.
The trouble arose from a total of three individuals, whose egos would be quite
gratified by the idea that they were being mentioned, even anonymously, here on
CIS.
The nature of their posts were, for the most part, not very different from that
of the fellow who posted recently that "B-5 needs to be saved," accompanied by
ill-informed speculation based on indie stations' somewhat chaotic handling of
the show.
The difference here is that the little bit of moderation that exists on CIS is
sufficient to prevent all of us here from becoming vigilantes who must
"straighten out" every fan with a Messiah complex (or at least to keep it to
e-mail or private posting when we do). It's the attention that they feed on, so
that the flame threads become interminable wars, and then you never know when
one of these prolific troublemakers would barge into a peaceful thread to get a
shot in -- transforming that thread into another flamefest.
*: 411939 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 12:47:13
Sb: #411780-#JMS resigns rastb5
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Robt Martin 75663,2701 (X)
I'd offer that there is a difference between what happened there and what
occasionally happens here. For starters, you have a few individuals who have
been attacking me, and this show, for over a year, incessantly, unendingly,
every single day...personal attacks of the most vicious sort, accusing me of
stuff that existed only in their own minds at best, but in reality were
probably just put out to cause me grief.
When stories are fabricated from wholecloth -- as the "Joe's being paid
by AOL" nonsense -- you pass beyond the realm of simple disagreement into a
campaign of deliberate disinformation designed with no other reason than to
cause trouble, and get others involved in a flamewar that never ends, and which
puts them at the center of the universe.
I have never, ever seen anything as loathsome and destructive as what
happened there on any other system. I've taken a lot of flak in my time, on a
lot of systems, and it rolls off...but after tolerating a year-plus of
groundless, vicious personal attacks...enough is finally enough. One can say,
"Yes, but it's just a few out of many," but if you're standing in a crowd and
three people are beating the crap out of you and slicing you up ever day for a
year, the fact that there are lots of other nice people in the crowd doesn't
help terribly.
I very much wish it could've gone differently, because I enjoy most of
the crowd there...but I will no longer tolerate that kind of stalking.
jms
*: 411987 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 13:17:13
Sb: #411908-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: Doug Quinn 76330,350
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
Hiya Joe;
If I may, I have a question. You've said previously that human life, because
it is transitory, is incalculably precious. Yet, you've also stated that given
the current penal system, the death penalty is a viable option. How is the
loss of two human lives better than the loss of one? Or the loss of 13 human
lives instead of the loss of 12?
It would seem to me that there are two ways to justify capital punishment. One
would be to hold the opinion that not all human lives are as precious as you've
stated, but that in fact some human lives are worth a lot more than other human
lives. If this is the case, who gets to make this assessment? The other would
be to hold the opinion that since each human life is so precious, we are
justified in exacting revenge on those who have destroyed it. This would be
retribution, not justice, but perhaps revenge is as great a need as justice.
Olla allay! Doug
*: 412187 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 18:13:41
Sb: #411987-#<PTG: Mind Wipe>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Doug Quinn 76330,350 (X)
Of course, your argument presumes that everyone is the same in value; who
gets to make that determination? It's really made by the person who is under
discussion. Someone who has murderd six nuns, raped schoolchildren, robbed the
blind and torched orphanages is, in my view, and the view of any sensible
person, I think, not the same person as a Mother Teresa or an Albert Einstein.
I know it's often perceived as elitism, but the truth is that we're not
all equal, some of us are better than others, not for being born a certain
color or a certain economic group, but because of what we *do* with our lives,
whether it's in a profession, or being a parent, or helping the society or our
family or our friends. I will never be as good a dancer as Astair; never paint
as well as Picasso; never contribute as much to this society as Lech Walesa or
Andrew Jackson; there is more value to what they have done in their lives in
those areas than is in mine. I hope that I have contributed *something*, in
other areas, maybe that's true, maybe it isn't, but the effort, and the intent
is there.
A person who engages in a life of violence or crime has diminished his own
life long before he ever walks into a courthouse or a prison. Sure, one can
make the "well, he's a victim of society, or other social issues" argument, but
there comes a point where the culture of victimization becomes excuse-making
and rationalizations. It's not my fault, it's society's fault.
No. If I pulled the trigger, it's my fault. Period.
So there *is* a difference in people. And if, as you say, 2 lives do not
balance out the loss of the one...what of the four people the one killer will
murder once he's released? Is the life of the one of more value than the three
more murdered?
My sense is that the penalty for murder isn't exactly a surprise, Doug. It
isn't, "Well, you just killed granpa, and now you'll get the chair." "WHAT?
Why wasn't I informed?"
We are responsible for our own choices, and our own actions. If I tell
you, "If you put this bean up your nose you will turn blue and pass out," and
you stick the bean up your nose, turn blue and pass out...is this my making a
moral judgment, or is it you reaping the consequences of your decision? If I
say, "If you murder a person, you sacrifice your own life as well," and the
person commits murder, knowing full well the consequences, the action is really
on the part of the criminal, not society.
But to go back to my original point...I would only favor the death penalty
for as long as the life imprisonment penalty means only ten or twenty years.
If life in prison meant LIFE behind bars...then I would happily help you throw
out the electric chairs. But right now, the system is badly in need of
adjustment.
jms
*: 411998 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 13:28:44
Sb: #408653-#From jms: info
Fm: George F. Kraus 71554,3372
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
Joe,
In Wash D.C. B5 is on WDCA at 8 PM on Wednesday nights. It moved from
Thursday nights quite awhile ago, perhaps before summer rerun season. Hope
this helps, B5 is easily the best show on current TV.
To whom should I direct requests for Season 1 reruns or videos? It's tough
to hook new viewers without being able to provide some of the background. I
can summarize the main plot but that pales in comaprison to actually watching
it develop over the course of 22 episodes.
George
*: 412188 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 18:13:44
Sb: #411998-From jms: info
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: George F. Kraus 71554,3372 (X)
Alas, no tapes are currently available.
jms
*: 412010 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 14:13:10
Sb: #410907-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: Rick Corey /NY 74653,3323
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
>> And I have lost people. Too many people. Lost them to chance,
violence, brutality beyond belief; I've seen all the senseless, ignoble acts of
"god's noblest creature." And I am incapable of forgiving. ....
>> As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because
it's only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it's gone
forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no backsies. So there can be
nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or wanton taking of a life.
I hope you'll make an exception and forgive my presumptuous preachifying. The
following is 100% opinion, with no warranty express or implied. Everyone's
milage may vary.
I understand what you've said to be reasons to have little faith in people, or
to give little credence to religions that preach sweetness, light, and
Crusades. But are they sufficient reasons for being an atheist? Are you
implying that there _cannot_ be a God because there is abusive cruelty, loss
and injustice? I'm not really trying to persuade you to become a theist, just
doubting that these given reasons are sufficient to preclude the possibility of
a "Divine Being" or "Divine Plan" of some sort.
I would suggest an alternative theory: that God is not a wuss. As you point
out, life is precious in part because it _is_ fragile and fleeting. If
there is any point in human incarnation, isn't it to transcend our ugly
tendencies? To be mortal and subject to the slings and arrows, but to hope and
strive nonetheless? I believe that there is a point to all the nastiness we
see around and in us; I just don't know very clearly what that point is. (I
suppose this must be "faith", even though I'm no fan of taking things on
"faith". I'd rather call it my unsupported opinion.)
Further opinion: we all have a mission, should we choose to accept it, to
protect the weak against the cruel, and to help destructive and abusive people
to grow up - or put them in a cage. "An eye for an eye" might be one game plan
for helping this growth process along.
I suspect that forgiveness is not something "nice" we do "for" vicious people.
It is a mental discipline that is usefull to the forgiver, in that it relieves
us of non-productive hate and stress. Forgiveness frees us to focus on our own
issues and duties.
(Just because you might forgive someone is no reason to forgo beating them
about the head and shoulders with a weighted baseball bat. Contrariwise, just
because you _don't_ forgive someone is not a valid reason _too_ clobber them.
The best course is to get one's own emotions under control, let go of lust for
revenge, self-righteousness and hatred, forgive if that helps you, and _then_
decide dispassionately which size bat to use.)
Just my opinions. Please excuse the presumption of commenting on your personal
beliefs.
*: 412189 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 18:13:53
Sb: #412010-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Rick Corey /NY 74653,3323 (X)
The only problem with your message, as well thought out as it is, is that
it proceeds from a false premise.
It stems from your assumption that I'm an atheist because there are
"reasons to have little faith in people" (and generally, I do have a great deal
of faith in people, more than you might think), and primarily that I thus "give
little credence to religions that preach sweetness, light and Crusades...that
there cannot be a god because there is abusive cruelty, loss and injustice...."
That ain't it, Rick. Cruelty, loss and injustice are human practices,
visited by humans on humans.
I've read the Bible, cover to cover, *twice* (which is more than a lot of
believers can say). How many producers can name offhand the Books of Moses, in
order, and quote chapter and verse out of much of it? Not many. I've read
nearly all the major religious works from most of the world's primary religions
or philosophies.
And the fact (subjective fact, relative to perception) is that I've never
yet encountered in these works a god that was of much higher moral caliber than
the average decent person. In most cases, the gods presented to us seem to
have even worse morals. They are invariably jealous, petty, arbitrary,
schizophrenic and inconsistent, cobbled together from pieces of leftover myth
and social taboos as the societal boogeyman...obey the rules, believe our way,
do as we tell you, or you'll go to the Unhappy Place. (And yes, I know all
about the notion that JC came to free mankind from the laws of the old
testament...and then the rest of the new testament proceeds to give us all the
NEW laws, about women not speaking in church, about how to behave...the letters
from Paul are every bit as restrictive in their way as anything in the old
testament.)
I look at the story of Adam and Eve, and allowing for the moment the
conceit that it happened (which I feel it didn't)...it was a setup. Here you
have two innocents, who had no familiarity with the very CONCEPT of untruth,
who thus had no reason to doubt the word of the serpent because no one had ever
lied to them before, and had no reason to think that a talking serpent wasn't
sent by god...we have the tree they were told not to eat from or they would
surely die, told to two people who had never SEEN death before, had no idea
what the very word meant, they might've well been told "or you wil surely
flabblegabble" for all the word meant to them; and finally, to the topic of
disobedience, the tree was the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, meaning if you take
the book literally, that before that moment, they didn't HAVE the knowledge of
good and evil, didn't know right from wrong, they only had that knowledge after
they took the fruit...NOT KNOWING IT WAS WRONG to disobey because that requires
that very selfsame knowledge, and for this the entire human race was penalized
to the last generation?
If a child, not knowing right from wrong, puts his hand on a hot stove,
you punish but you don't execute him or his kids for it. If you *really*
accept the literal word there, then you must accept that they had no knowledge
of good and evil, thus no knowledge they were doing wrong, and thus should not
be held accountable; they were children, less than children. Which makes the
actions that follow those of a malevolent, half-crazed deity that created a
trap they could never hope to avoid, a test they could never hope to pass.
Mark Twain described god as a malign thug on far less grounds than that.
I even have problems with the notion of the crucifixion, with a deity that
got go angry with humanity that the only way to balance out was to have part of
itself murdered...in an act which is really no nobler than the average soldier
who dies on a battlefield, not for the whole world, but just for his platoon,
or his buddy...and who does so not knowing, as JC did, that he will end up on
the great white throne for all eternity, who jumps onto the grenade not knowing
if his actions will land him in heaven or hell, no guarantees, or who may
undergo a whole lifetime of suffering, as opposed to a few hours on the cross.
Again and again, I look around and I don't find a single deity that is
*worth* the attention and favor of the human race, which in all its parts and
pieces, flawed as it might be, seems nobler and braver than anything presented
in any of its religious texts.
The only one I've found even moderately interesting is Zen Buddhism,
mainly because it's the only one around that seems to have a real sense of
humor about itself.
So you see, my problem isn't with humans, or our own inherent violence,
but comes from expecting any god to have at least the virtues we require of our
fellow humans...and not finding one. So it seems to me better and more logical
that no such critter exists than to accept any of the described beta-test
versions of Deity v1.0.
This isn't normally the kind of thing I talk about, or tend to discuss in
public, because it tends to honk people off. I happen to feel very strongly
about this, as you can tell. (And to anyone looking on; please don't send me
missives on religion, or scriptural quotes, or your own personal experience
with god; the latter is subjective, and the former I've seen a thousand times
before. I've come to this position by a hard road, I've heard it before, and
I'm not moving.)
I have no desire to convince anyone else of the rightness of my views,
because I don't have any real views outside this. I don't put it in my show
because then it's just propaganda. And I don't usually discuss it because
there's nothing to be gained by doing so; you're not going to change your
position, and I'm not going to change mine, and I have no desire to seem to
disapprove or put down anyone else's attitudes, just as I don't want my own to
be degraded. Neither of us needs the other to lecture us on this. If what you
believe works for you, that's all that matters. If it makes you a better
person, helps you contribute to society, gives you peace of mind, then I
couldn't possibly be happier.
And I expect only the same in return.
jms
*: 412054 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 14:44:04
Sb: #ATTN:JMS <? About B4>
Fm: Mitchell Schneider 72640,1472
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
First off, I want to tell you how much I enjoy the show. You have really put
together one heck of a Story.
I have been reading about how at the end of this season the last few episodes
will be dealing with the *other side* of "BSquared". BSqurared,
unfourtunately, is I think the only Arc show that I have not yet seen. I can't
seem to find anyone who has it on tape, and of course, PTEN refuses to re-run
any first year ep's.
Is there any way you can convince TPTB to re-run "BSquared" in the Block of
re-runs prior to the end of the season? Maybe, if you pitch the idea as being
part of understanding the season ending episodes, their tiny executive minds
might be convinced it is the right thing to do.
What the hey? Give it a shot!
--Mitch in NYC--
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mitski at interport.net - mitsc at phantom.com
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'95 K75 w/ABS (mais oui!) | Church of the Powder-Hound
BMWMOA #68561 | Keep your Faith at Xtreme Angles
IBMWR - K Whiner MC #18 | -and- Pray to the Snow-Gods...
CoFounder: Team Mean | Harry, Where's the ChoWDa?!?
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*: 412190 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 18:13:54
Sb: #412054-#ATTN:JMS <? About B4>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Mitchell Schneider 72640,1472
I'm going to try to get PTEN to run B-squared prior to the two parter; I
may not succeed, but I'm going to try.
jms
*: 412087 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 15:11:38
Sb: #To JMS
Fm: Michael Milutinovic 75500,3370
To: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644 (X)
I have been away (from CIS) for awhile, but would like to let you know that
the Show has been getting better and better.
I'm just amazed at the quality.
Thanks for a great show.
A quick question (I missed your live conference, was watch B5 at that time).
Do the Mimbari Warriors follow the Religion, or do they have an offspring of
what the Religous Caste practice?
Thanks
Z. Michael Milutinovic
(Using Work's CIS Account)
*: 412191 S5/Babylon 5: General
06-Dec-95 18:13:58
Sb: #412087-To JMS
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Michael Milutinovic 75500,3370 (X)
No, there's really just the one Minbari religion, and the warrior caste
tends to follow it, but not lead it.
jms
*: 412157 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 17:02:44
Sb: #412110-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: John C. Brobston/PRCT 71410,3121
To: Philip Hornsey 74053,2101 (X)
Philip,
I'm not trying to argue with you, but what you are describing sounds more like
"unconcerned agnosticism" than "atheism". An atheist _knows_ that there is no
God. An unconcerned agnostic doesn't know with certainty whether there is or
isn't, and doesn't particularly worry about it.
Of course to hard-core religious types, agnosticism and atheism are the same.
--John
*: 412200 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 18:23:18
Sb: #412157-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: John C. Brobston/PRCT 71410,3121 (X)
I disagree on your definitions. (And I think it's best to let those who
feel a certain way define themselves; others often do so toward their best
advantage in debates.) An agnostic says, "Maybe there is a god, maybe there
isn't, who knows?"
An atheist says, "No one has yet shown the least real evidence of there
being a god, therefore I choose not to believe in one."
It's not a matter of *knowing* there is no god; that puts the person in
the position of "You must have concrete evidence of the non-existence of god,"
which is absurd, you can't prove a negative.
If you say, "There are green penguins in the north pole," then it is
incumbent upon you to prove the point. I'm not a "believer in non-green
penguinism" if I don't buy it...I just don't accept it.
jms
*: 412165 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 17:26:58
Sb: #412157-#<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: Greg Munsill 76370,142
To: John C. Brobston/PRCT 71410,3121 (X)
John:
>>I'm not trying to argue with you, but what you are describing sounds more
like "unconcerned agnosticism" than "atheism". An atheist _knows_ that there
is no God. An unconcerned agnostic doesn't know with certainty whether there
is or isn't, and doesn't particularly worry about it.
Of course to hard-core religious types, agnosticism and atheism are the same.<<
Interesting, and I think you're right -- the terms are sometimes used
imprecisely. I've actually always thought of atheism _as_ a religion. As
opposed to a system requiring a faith-based belief in the existence of God,
atheism is a system requiring a faith-based belief in the *non*-existence of
God.
Yes!/No! = religion Don't Know (and maybe Don't Care) = agnosticism
Greg
*: 412201 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 18:23:19
Sb: #412165-<Gethsemane questions>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Greg Munsill 76370,142 (X)
"faith-based belief in the non-existence of god"
See my prior note about this.
jms
*: 411226 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
05-Dec-95 14:34:43
Sb: #411137-#$0.04: <A Day in Strife>
Fm: Ruth Ballam 100412,3457
To: Thomas E. Hendrick 102560,3556 (X)
<< All sheridan is a cheap copy of Sinclair. Sheridan is just doing all the
things that Sinclair should be doing. I still dont belive to this day what JMS
says about bring the new charecter in. >>
Much though I miss Sinclair, and I still like him more than Sheridan, you're
*way* off base. Sinclair would never have done half the things that Sheridan
has done. He's a totally different person. His solutions to problems, his
reactions to people and situations would have been different to Sheridan's. I
think the change worked out for the best and gave a whole new feel to the show
(I repeat I still miss Sinclair).
You should try a little harder to give the character of Sheridan a chance. It's
not an either / or situation, you can apreciate both.
Ruth
*: 412207 S6/Babylon 5: Upcoming
06-Dec-95 18:28:01
Sb: #411226-#$0.04: <A Day in Strife>
Fm: J. Michael Straczynski 71016,1644
To: Ruth Ballam 100412,3457 (X)
You're saying Sinclair was the chosen one...first, you don't know what he
was chosen FOR. Second, if this is entirely true, why would Zathras look
Sinclair dead in the face and say "NOT the one"?
As for "why would he change his story"...nothing is set in stone; if you
were a writer, you'd know that an outline only gets you into the story and the
main points. I've had whole novels that I've written abruptly change direction
halfway through because of something I discovered midway that was better than
what I'd planned initially. You adjust. No outline ever survives contact with
the enemy.
If, tomorrow, I decided that the rest of this story would be better if
Sheridan were transformed into a giant blue space moose, that's exactly what
I'd do.
jms
/*********************************************
* Brent Barrett brent.barrett at 24stex.com *
* Senior Software Engineer Automedia, Inc *
*********************************************/
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